Strengthening trust and transparency

In an ever more complex and interconnected world, organizations of all kinds must establish and maintain trust, taking a proactive, holistic approach to transparency. Openness can help to serve as an antidote to the overload of information, misinformation, and scandals that continue to erode the public’s faith in institutions – but only if greater transparency points to reliable information.

For PwC, building trust in society and solving important problems is at the heart of who we are. We see trust as something that must constantly be earned – a journey, rather than a destination, that requires non-stop attention and a focus on the greater good. We help organizations across a range of sectors improve the internal controls, reporting mechanisms, and communication strategies that provide a solid foundation for transparency. Long recognized for our skills in handling information and assets properly, organizations, such as charitable funds established for victims of crimes and natural and other disasters, have turned to PwC for assistance. We hold ourselves to the same high standards, implementing robust governance, ethics, and accountability measures to help maintain integrity throughout our entire organization.

55% of CEOs surveyed by PwC in 2016 were concerned about the lack of trust in business today – compared with 37% three years earlier.1

24% of consumers said their trust in companies’ ability to protect their personal data had declined over the past 12 months.2

46% of companies surveyed are investing in new security needs related to evolving business models.3

Setting new standards for cybersecurity

A popular search engine and web portal announces a data security breach, potentially impacting 500 million accounts. A prominent bank reveals that a cyberattack may have accessed information from 76 million customers. Hackers disrupt Internet service across America’s Eastern seaboard, bringing down dozens of websites. These examples barely scratch the surface in a time when cybersecurity ranks among the biggest concerns facing companies and governments.

Our firm has a history of helping to develop strategies for securing assets, and rules and guidelines for standard-setting entities. Now we’re adding another to the mix: the National Cybersecurity Center (NCC). PwC’s growing cybersecurity practice was asked to help the NCC come to fruition as the nation’s first center to provide real-time cyber support, education, and training to small- and medium-sized businesses, governments, and nonprofits, which typically don’t have the budgets to hire private cybersecurity firms.

PwC is helping get the NCC off the ground – through a pro bono engagement – so the organization can set cybersecurity standards and information-sharing protocols. This, in turn, will make it easier to distribute cybersecurity response information from one organization to another – and, ultimately, stop the attackers in their tracks.

Building trust in our food supply

We are living in a world where trust in the security, safety, and quality of food is being challenged. In a publicly available paper, PwC examined how the food industry can step up to the challenge created by the demand for greater traceability, transparency, and reduced food risks, while leveraging resulting opportunities to compete on quality and build consumer trust.